You're My Best Friend

Chapter 9

"William!" Caroline said almost excitedly making her way over to the array of foods left out for the guests.

"Caroline! How lovely to see you" he responded with the same enthusiasm, just with a mouthful of food. Swallowing, he added, "I hear you are helping my older brother find a suitable wife. I applaud you for your service to the community."

"I would do the same for any of my friends." she studied William, who seemed to be a more lanky version of his elder brother. They had the same chestnut hair and deep brown eyes, but William's were different, Much more filled with trickery and deviousness. She could remember not so fondly some of the pranks he had pulled on her and her sisters. But that was the past, and they had both grown since then.

"So what brings you here to me?" William said, taking another biscuit for himself.

"Your brother suggests you and I spend some time together" she said, "In exchange for my services helping him find a wife, he is helping me find a husband."

William looked like he nearly choked on whatever pastry he was eating at this point.

"And he sent you to me? Goodness he sounds like our father trying to get one of us to marry you or one of your sister" Caroline felt her cheeks grow red with embarrassment, "Not that you ladies aren't wonderful people" William added, noticing Caroline's hurt expression, "You two would make lovely wives."

"I will take that last part as a compliment," Caroline answered, trying to pull herself back together.

"If I am to marry, you do seem like one of the best choices there could be. You are sweet and kind, and one of the few people to put up with some of my jokes."

Caroline couldn't tell if he was being truthful or not, but she couldn't deny that he was one of the few people she considered a friend in the ton. And with friendship being so important in her long term plan for marriage, she was willing to brush aside his early remarks.

"Would it be alright if I sat with you during the performance tonight?" she asked, feeling quite bold. Is this what Amelia felt like from day to day

"Of course" he nodded

They spent the entirety of the performance giggling and telling stories. No one seemed to mind their discussion as they had hid themselves in the back of the room. Still throughout the night, Caroline kept looking forward to check on Geoffrey. Was everything alright between him and Miss Chase? She hoped she hadn't let him down again. If she had been more honest about Suzannah's bluntness, she could have saved him from embarrassment.

"Would you join me for tea tomorrow, Caroline?" William asked

"I would love that, but you'll need to ask my father first, she pointed down the row to her father who had been keeping an eye on the two of them all night.

"I will, though I doubt he'll say no" he replied calmly

"You underestimate my father" Caroline giggled, "He nearly killed Amelia's husband the first few times they met."

After the performance, which Caroline truthfully had not been paying attention to, William asked her father's permission to meet up together tomorrow. Caroline was shocked by his eagerness to say yes. But something about the eagerness felt wrong. Maybe it was just jitters, but Caroline did hope her father would disapprove of her decision just once. But she was Caroline Bassett, the quiet and respectful one. Not harsh like her sisters, and not connected to any title like her brother David. She didn't need to have a crisis over this. There was nothing wrong with who she was, so why did she feel this feeling of doubt?

The next day seemed as nerve wracking as the night before. She was having fun taking tea with William, his college stories were unmatched by anything she had heard, not even her own brothers' exploits. But something else felt off. She knew she cared deeply about William, but it wasn't love. Her mind kept going to Geoffrey. If she confessed that she had no feelings for his brother, he would most definitely feel like she let him down. And she did not want to do that.

"And then, it's me and these two Scottish men traveling back to our dormitory, drunk off our asses... forgive me for my crassness" Caroline interrupted William's more recent story with a nervous giggle. "And we see this constable start running towards us and we start to panic and run. Except we all run in different directions."

Caroline's eyes drifted to the window, watching Geoffrey and Miss Chase having a picnic in the back garden. IT looked as if it was going well for the two of them, which would hopefully make him less hurt when she told him that things weren't going to work out between her and William.

"Caroline are you alright?" William asked, stopping his story.

"I'm just thinking" she replied

"Can I ask about what?"

Caroline gulped. She knew she needed to be honest with him, "About how I cannot marry you. William I care for you, but I just cannot marry you."

William's jaw dropped, "Who said anything about marrying you?'

Caroline tried to arrange her words and emotions before she spoke, "I'm sorry. I just don't know. I would just hate for you to be more in love with me than I am with you. And then on top of that, I would be letting Geoffrey down. He seemed to believe we would be a good fit."

William took a sigh of relief, "Oh Caroline, I could never marry you either. Being with you is great and all, but you're like a sister to me. I want to stay your friend, and honestly I find it so great that you feel the same way." he took her hand, "And as for my brother, I don't know why'd you worry. Unless you"

"Unless I... what?" she asked, deeply confused.

"No I doubt it..." William shook his head, "unless?"

"You frustrate me!" she said

"All the more reason we should just stay friends."